Packaging food in raised state

Abstract

A method of packaging food in raised state, comprising the steps of forming a displaceable wall portion integrally with and in the central section of a bottom wall of a food container so that the wall portion can be projected into and out of the container when the wall portion is pressed inward and outward, inserting a food in the container with the wall portion kept projecting outward, sealing the container with a film, and pressing the wall portion so as to be projected into the container and thereby raise the food above the plane of the upper end of the container against the tension of the film. Since the food is placed in the container with the displaceable wall portion kept projecting outward, the falling of the food during the food packing operation can be prevented. When the displaceable wall portion of the food-packed and sealed container is pressed inward to raise the food, a recess occurs in the lower surface of the container, which recess enables the container to be piled stably on the raised surface of another similar food-packed container.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of packaging of pieces of food in a raised state, comprising the steps of: forming a projecting wall portion integrally with and in the central section of a bottom wall of container, said wall portion projecting towards the outside of the lower surface of said bottom wall;   inserting the pieces of food in said container with said wall portion maintained so as to project towards the outside of the lower surface of said bottom wall;   sealing the opening of said container with a film; and   applying pressure on the outside surface of said wall portion of said sealed container so that said wall portion is pressed upwardly, said wall portion projecting into said container forming a recess on an underside surface of the package, thereby raising the pieces of food by the food-raising force of said inwardly-projected wall portion to a level above the plane of the upper end of said container against the tension of said film to form a bulge extending above the plane of the upper end of said container.   
     
     
       2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pieces of food comprises a type of food selected from the group of rod-shaped sausages, cherries, and strawberries. 
     
     
       3. The method according to claim 1 comprising the steps of forming a plurality of food packages and stacking said packages such that the bulge of a first package in the stack fits into the recess of a second package of the stack so that the stack of packages is stable.